Which of the following organisms would be the producer in a food chain?

1. Analyze the question The question asks which organism is a producer in a food chain. A producer is the first link in any food chain, because it makes its own food.

2. Explain the concept

• Producers (autotrophs) make their own food from simple substances, usually by photosynthesis: carbon dioxide + water → glucose + oxygen (in the presence of light and chlorophyll)
• Consumers (heterotrophs) cannot make their own food, so they feed on other organisms. • Primary consumers eat plants (herbivores). • Secondary and tertiary consumers eat other animals (carnivores). • Omnivores eat both plants and animals.
• Decomposers (some bacteria and fungi) break down dead organisms and wastes.

3. Solution: check each option

• A. Goat: a herbivore that feeds on plants, so it is a primary consumer.
• B. Maize: a green plant with chlorophyll that makes its food by photosynthesis, so it is a producer.
• C. Man: an omnivore that eats both plants and animals, so it is a consumer.
• D. Bacterium: most bacteria are decomposers, which feed on dead organic matter. They are not the usual producers in a food chain.

4. Answer The producer is maize.

5. Tip Ask yourself, "Does it make its own food?" If it is a green plant, it is almost always the producer. In a food chain the arrow points from the food to the eater: maize → goat → man. Maize is at the start, so it is the producer.